Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Swimming with Twins

Way back before I was pregnant and thinking of the day that I would one day have a baby, I would often daydream about taking that baby to the pool. I've always loved swimming and I wanted a little waterbaby. I'd daydream of walking the baby down to the pool in the stroller, something I figured I'd do almost every day in the summer time. I'd get the baby and we'd splash in the pool and coo and do all those Mommy-Baby water things.

Then I found out I was having twins. My daydreams had to be altered just a WEE bit. There pretty much is a one baby to one adult ratio that must be met for all swimming activities. So that limited my swimming daydreams. I did manage to take the girls to the pool one time by myself last summer. You can read about that here. Let's just say, the experience was do-able while they were still in the carseat but it was hard. Getting two babies in swimsuits and lathered in sunscreen by yourself isn't easy. Once they were crawling and bored with the baby carriers, there was no more going to the pool by myself.

Luckily my mom bought a house that has a pool in the yard. This has meant that I've taken the girls swimming a lot more than I would have if she didn't have a pool. See, having mom fullfills the 1 adult to 1 baby ratio. Although, having a third person is always a huge help because holding a squirmy baby for the 20 or 30 minute swim is an arm workout. And yes, it's only 20 or 30 minutes worth of swimming. Last summer it was because we didn't want them in the sun/heat/water for too long. This summer that seems to be their swimming attention span and then they are DONE.

It's a lot of work to get two toddlers ready to swim when you know you are only going to be out there for 20-30 min. But in the long run, it'll be worth it. They are doing better in the water. They started the summer a big apprehensive of the pool but today they did really great! Maddie was "swimming" along kicking and stretching out with no problems. Izzie was happy, but she didn't want to try swimming, she was much happier just being held by Nanna. And as much as they love Popo on the land, in the water they don't want anything to do with him. Sometimes they let him hold them, but not for too long.

There is hope though. Next summer they might be big enough to swim without being held on to with the help of floaties... anyone want to second that?

1 comment:

I have twins who were 2 in June. At the beginning of the summer I would have never taken them to the pool alone. They weren't great in the water. Now, I take them almost every day *alone*. It's amazing what a couple of months can do. We go to our neighborhood pool and I either put those arm floaties on them or put them in a ring. They do great! I can swim with both of them just fine. So I bet next summer your girls will be swimming great with you. (I stumbled on your blog through my sis, Amy.)